Lemon Cucumber and not sure what?

                                                                      

I planted lemon cucumbers this year and have been excited to see what they would be like.  We finally had some ready to eat.  There is no lemon taste like you might think.  They do however kinda look like a lemon.
It has a similar taste to a regular cucumber, but a tad sweeter. 

And then we had this.  This is something that cross pollinated.  The Burrell's Jumbo Melons and a cucumber.  I had read this could happen with cucumbers and IT DID!  A cumelon!  It was not good and we had to just throw it out.  BTW these were not planted in the same bed, but fairly close. 

I just love nature!  I cross pollinated something!

I know you are laughing at me, but this is my first time to do the garden without Brant's help .......remember?  And I think it has done pretty darn good.....thank you very much!  I am learning and boy am I having fun! 

I take pictures daily of the garden and all my work that I have put in to it. 

Oh how it is a dream to live where we have a ton of land to roam, play and PLANT! 

Maybe one day.......you never know what God has planned.  For now I will enjoy all our blessing right here and plan ahead for our Fall Gardening School.  I wonder if I could grow pumpkins?! Maybe gourds?

                                                                  

Afternoon at the lake

                                                                               
This afternoon we loaded up the ice chest and headed out to Murrell Park in Flower Mound.  This little park has access to Grapevine Lake.  It was a perfect place to let the boys see what it is like to swim/play in a lake. We pretty much had the whole area to ourselves. It was GREAT!
This was the first time the boys have been in a lake.  I mean actually in it.....swimming and playing around.  The bottom always freaks me out so I wasn't sure if they would like it.  Well I sure was surprised. 
Matthew is a little fish and was quickly in it swimming all around.  Ryan still does not "swim", but did venture out in it to get wet.  They enjoyed collecting rocks and splashing around.   This will be a new spot for our family.  The boys are already asking to go back.  Here are a few pictures from today.  And more on Shutterfly in their Summer album.  You have to go see the pictures of Brant!!!  As you can see in the picture above taking pictures is always FUN when Brant is around.  

                                                                         

Shirts OFF and Endless COOKIES!

I know the title is pretty strange, but you'll get it soon enough.
So last night after bathing Ryan I was all set to put on his brace and pjs.  He very quickly informed me that he and Matthew were going to wrassle.  He went on to tell me he couldn't get dressed because they had to do it in underwear only.  I couldn't resist so I put off making him wear his brace.  Matthew was done bathing and they were all set to wrassle.  The next thing I hear is Daddy is going to wrassle too!  How FUN!  All the guys rolling around on the floor in a wrassling match.  Well the funniest part was Brant also had to take his shirt off!  MEN and BOYS!   Obviously I will never be able to wrassle with the boys.
Now on to the cookies........I try to make the boys(that's including Brant)cookies often.  There is just something about homemade cookies.  It really doesn't matter the kind........just homemade.  And plus it makes me feel like a real mom in all since I really do not like to cook.
Anyway so I baked chocolate chip cookies last night and got the thumbs up by the boys......see picture below.
Today after lunch everyone enjoyed a few.  They are so much better the next day.  Brant being the wonderful father that he is made a point to tease the boys that he was going to eat them all.  This did not go over too well with Matthew and it almost brought on the tears.  After seeing that Daddy was playing around, but not 100% sure, Matthew came up with an awesome idea.
We buy a BIG, huge, 18 wheeler and drive it to the grocery store.  A GIANT grocery store!  And at this so called GIANT grocery store we would buy a GIANT bag of chocolate chip cookies.  Bring them to our house and store them in our garage.  Since it would be such a big bag of cookies I would now have to park my car out on the drive-way to make room for the BIG bag.   As Matthew said, "Then we would NEVER run out of cookies!" 
Endless cookies and I never have to bake again?!  Where is that GIANT grocery store? 

For now I'll keep baking cookies until I find that GIANT grocery store and of course keep my shirt on!

8AM-Joys of sleepy little boys!

After all week of the boys getting up early they are still sleeping this morning.  I did make sure I put them to bed later last night so maybe that had something to do with it. 
Whatever it was they apparently needed the sleep.  And I sure have enjoyed my 2 cups of coffee and catching up on emails and blogs. 
Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend!  I can't wait for some FUN in the sun!

Just a bunch of melons

Check out all the melons!!!  It seems that the melons are the only fruit or veggies that can handle this heat.  We have had a couple squash and tomatoes and there are a few cucumbers growing right now, but the melons are everywhere!  We picked one way too early the other night, but now we know for the next ones.
Can't wait to see how many we end up getting.  Right now there are 13, but each day I find a another little one growing.
For now our Gardening School is just a bunch of melons!

SUMMER!!!!

Happy Summer 2010!!!!  Unfortunately our weather has said it was summer for about a month now. And lets not mention the electric bill.  WOW.....its not even July! 
Today we started our first day of summer by both boys getting up at 6:20AM !!!!  Not sure what that was all about, but it made for a very loud and interesting morning. 
Then to stay with the first day of summer theme the boys enjoyed running around in the sprinklers as I tried to save our grass.   Why not it was only 8AM......the day was young.

And you sure can't celebrate the first day of summer without a snow cone! The first of many we will have this summer.  Cheers to you on this HOT day! 

Grape

Rainbow

Happy HOT Summer!!!!!!!!!!

Daddy and his boys

Looking on as Daddy gets the smoker ready for the ribs!   


                                                            

Ribs are smoking and Daddy is powered by charcoal...............see below.

The boys saw this shirt and had to get it for their Daddy.  He will wear it proudly......I am sure.

                                      

All smiles with Daddy.

Random thoughts from 5 year old boys

So as I am getting Matthew dressed, yes I still dress them.....leave me alone!  There will be a day when they want nothing to do with me.  Me getting them dressed is much faster anyway, BUT just to make you feel better, sometimes I DO make them get dressed alone just to make sure they can do it.  And they CAN!!!
Anyway as I am getting Matthew dressed the other day he asked me, "Mom, I wonder how long it takes an octopus to wash his hands?"  Why would he even wonder this?
And then there is Ryan.  While shopping the other day he announces to me that he will punch the bad guys in the face if they mess with us. 
Mind you the bad guys were 2 sweet little ladies staring at the boys because they were under tables in the shoe department pretending it was an airplane and trying to measure my feet.  
And those are random thoughts from 5 year old BOYS!

What a difference a week makes!

Matthew is swimming and Ryan is putting his face in water!!!  What a difference a week makes.  And a small, private class.  And a couple of GREAT teachers!!!
I can not get over how much better they both are doing.
Matthew is swimming very well with a kick board and a little without.  Once he learns to take off without the board he'll get it. I give it to the end of summer and he will have it down!
Ryan was very reluctant to get his face/head wet at the beginning of their lessons.  But last night I could see he finally realized it was OK and is trying it more.  That is all we ask.....TRY!  He also can use the kick board, but is still working on positioning his arms on it.  But he is putting his face in the water and coming back up for air.  This is BIG! 
If only their lessons were for another week.  This evening is the last lesson. 
Hopefully weekly trips to a pool will help them remember everything they have learned.  And learn more!  Ryan is much more comfortable in the water now and that was a goal accomplished! 
And both boys know some safety about being in and around a pool now!
So the two weeks of messing up my nightly routine were well worth it. 
It sure made me realize what a difference a week can make.

Rascally Rabbit!

Be vewy, vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits.
While out checking all the melons(they are everywhere!!!)I came across an area that looked like something had been messing with the garden.  At a closer look and picking up vines I saw dirt and grass covering up a hole....... a very deep hole by our bunny friend.  He or she not only made a nice home, but also destroyed some of the long melon vines. 
I am going to have rabbit stew if this little bunny keeps killing my melons!!!!    Brant took everything out of the hole and filled it back in with dirt.  This picture does not really show just how deep inside the earth this bunny worked to make a hole.  And you should have seen all the stuff it had gathered to cover the hole. 
We first checked for babies and thankfully none were there.  I wouldn't mind so much, but then that means I will have to go out with Arthur every time he needs out.  He loves to play(kill)with baby rabbits. 
We thought it was too late, but upon further research I discovered the cottontail rabbits mate between February and September.  GREAT!  I guess that means I better make a point to check the gardens more often.
If its not the birds eating the tomatoes, its that rascally rabbit killing my melons!
Its all good though.......just a part of nature......God's plan. 

Peck of peaches

This past weekend we had the pleasure of my sister bringing us a peck of peaches. 
Not just any peach.....these are freestone peaches from Cooper Farms in Fairfield, Texas.  YUMMY! 
http://www.cooperfarmspeaches.com/
What do you do with a peck of peaches.......besides just eating them.  
Well for a while now I am have been wanting to make Peach Salsa.  LOVE peach salsa!
So last night my wonderful husband did ALL the chopping and we made this delightful summer treat.
It is a tad spicy and oh so fresh!  It made 4 jars that I intend to share and of course keep one for us.
We still have a ton of peaches so I suppose I am forced to make peach cobbler, peach pie, maybe peach ice cream, etc.  Oh and more salsa!  Any other ideas?  Send them my way.
I sure can't let these peaches go to waste.

                                                                        

Praise God from whom ALL blessing flow........

And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so.  The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind.  And God saw that it was good. 

Genesis 1:11-12

I LOVE nature!!!!

8AM-Joys of having eyes for God's creation

No it is not Friday, but I had to do 8AM-Joy today. 
I am a lover of all God's creations and creatures, although I am not always fond of them being in our yard.
We have had our mishaps of killings by the Arthur.  To name a couple......bunnies that he assumed were little rag dolls to toss around until he killed them.  And of course the time he swallowed a baby bird whole right in front of me as I stood SCREAMING bloody murder for the whole neighborhood to hear.  I still get chills down my spine as I think back to that day.  Darn dog, he looked me square in the eyes as he took a deep breath and down went the bird.
Anyway this morning as I walked Brant out(really to check on the babies)this is what we saw.  These precious little baby doves.  I suppose Momma and Daddy both were out looking for food or maybe it is time for the babies to leave the nest.
As we tried to get a closer shot one decided it was time to fly and took off.  Thank God these birds made their nest in the front gutter and not the back.  Arthur would love a little excitement with birds. 
I felt so blessed to look at these sweet babies and know where they came from and know my boys do too.
God is the creator of all living things.  And I am feeling the joys of having eyes for His creation.

What is that I see?? Can it be?

Watermelon!!!  And honeydew or cantaloupe(not sure which I planted????)!!!   I get so excited when I start to see the "fruits" of our labor. 

Yes I know they are small, but they are GROWING!

See with the little fuzzy stuff on them?

And check out this big daddy!!

OK we have no idea if any of this will ever get big enough to eat, let alone be tasty, but it is doing way more than it did last year!  It doesn't matter anyway because I enjoy watching it all GROW! 

Gardening School is FUN!!!

Update-swim lessons

Well they made it through the first class without any tears!!!!  Matthew did GREAT!  We expected that from him.  He is our little dare devil and just seems to catch on to things much easier.  Ryan did pretty good, but was very hesitate to try everything like the other boys.  Their teacher did not force him, but at one point just took him and made him try.  Not in a forceful way, but in an encouraging way. 
All we want is for him to TRY!  He is very comfortable with just sitting back to watch.  It bugs us some, but what can we do.  For instance he would rather wait to drive a car than TRY to learn to ride his bike.  Oh well.....he'll get it all one day.  For now Matthew is just passing him by and he does not care yet.
On a positive note he woke up this morning ready to go to swim lessons!!!
So unlike last year we will head back to swim lessons this evening.  They are both excited to go!!!

Trying it again

The boys will start swim lessons today!
This will be the second summer we have tried it. I pray they are more willing to stick it out this time. Last year was a little crazy to say the least.   One day and they were DONE!
Unlike most children the boys missed out on becoming familiar with water at an early age.
Because Ryan was in a cast from 15 months old until he was 28 months old neither had anything to do with water during that time. And prior to that they had a baby pool  for a short period of time when they were a year old. They turned a year old in April and by August Ryan had his first cast. So water fun was completely out of the question. And in our family we all sacrificed while Ryan was going through casting.
Matthew is ready and much braver in a pool than Ryan. Although Ryan has come a long way in the water. At the age they are now, it is more about safety in the water, so we are pushing very hard to make this work.
They will go every day for a 30 minute class for 2 weeks.  It will be a small class of 4 little boys.
So we'll try it again and see what happens.  I'll update later on. 

The way Ryan eats watermelon

Now that's some serious watermelon eatin'!

8AM-Joys of being a Mother

It does not happen very often, but the boys are STILL SLEEPING!!!  OK now that I have said it they will be up any minute. 
It doesn't matter because I have been blessed this morning with 2 hours of enjoying my coffee and time alone.
Happy Friday!  Have a GREAT weekend!

Thursday Night Special

Every once in a while this is perfectly fine....seriously it is!  This was dinner tonight.  And I must say we all enjoyed it very much.  Some more than others.
We haven't had many sweets in the house lately so we were due.  Who wouldn't eat homemade chocolate chip cookies for dinner?! I think the strawberries and blueberries with homemade whipped topping made it a complete meal.  I had to get something semi-healthy on the dinner plate.
Next week maybe brownies and watermelon.
Hmm.......I think I like this Thursday Night Special thing. 

June is National Scoliosis Awareness Month!!

See the slight curve in this flower?  That is what Ryan's little spine looks like right now on an Xray.  ISOP(http://www.infantilescoliosis.org/) describes infants and children with Progressive Infantile Scoliosis like a wildflower, each being individually unique.  Some can withstand mother nature's elements and and will grow straight, while others need a little support in the beginning.  

I love a little flower that God has uniquely designed!!!  A child with Progressive Infantile Scoliosis.  And my little flower still needs some support even at five years old.
We started this journey in 2005 when I discovered Ryan's rib hump while bathing him and Matthew. 
In the past five years we have gone down many roads only to discover wrong turns, dead ends and sometimes running completely out of gas.
BUT where we are today is a blessing from God that Ryan has not had any surgery and may not need to.  Only time will tell and only God knows that direction in the road.
For now we press on.  We continue to walk this sometimes twisty road and do anything in our power to let other parents know what to look for.
Can you help me this month in raising awareness for Infantile Scoliosis?  I'll make it easy.  Forward my blog to someone.  Once they are here all they need to do is follow the links on the right.  There is a link with Ryan's story and videos about Infantile Scoliosis.  And of course ISOP's website link above.
So for all the innocent little wildflowers out there help me raise awarness!!!!